Law enforcement actions against darknet marketplaces and cybercrime forums

US and international law enforcement continued disrupting illicit online marketplaces and forums used to trade ransomware services, malware, stolen data, and drugs. The FBI seized the dark web and clear web domains for RAMP, a long-running, predominantly Russian-language cybercrime forum that marketed itself as the “only place ransomware allowed,” and which hosted vetted users, tutorials, and a marketplace for malware and criminal services; the seizure was coordinated with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Separately, US prosecutors announced guilty pleas tied to major darknet markets that also sold cybercrime tools and stolen information alongside narcotics. A Virginia man, Raheim Hamilton (aka Sydney/ZeroAngel), co-creator of Empire Market, pleaded guilty to federal drug conspiracy charges related to facilitating roughly $430M in transactions (2018–2020) and designing the market to evade law enforcement using cryptocurrency. A Slovakian national, Alan Bill (aka Vend0r/KingdomOfficial), pleaded guilty for helping operate Kingdom Market (2021–2023), which authorities previously seized in December 2023; investigators linked him to the operation after his arrest with devices and a crypto hardware wallet allegedly containing evidence tying him to the marketplace.